GREER — The developer behind two hotels in downtown Greenville was tapped late Tuesday to redevelop 2.6 acres in Greer that includes the old Tire Exchange at the center of town for a new hotel and retail space.

Yatish Patel, whose company Sycamore Investment Group built the Holiday Inn Express and Home 2 Suites on North Main Street in Greenville, will head up the project, which will include a multi-million-dollar, 100-room Hilton-brand hotel as well as retail and commercial space.

The Greer City Council approved the project unanimously in a deal that includes $1.8 million in infrastructure reimbursements the city will pay Patel's company should the project come together as agreed.

The city council has, in turn, promised to build a parking garage, which will remain under public ownership, and a pedestrian walkway.

Mayor Pro Tem Wryley Bettis called the project a "game changer" and likened its potential impact to the opera house and hotel in downtown Newberry.

"This fills a huge void, in my opinion," Bettis said. "In order to be a destination for people, I think you have to have a good hotel in your business district."

Greer Communications Manager Steve Owens said the planned hotel will have little trouble filling its rooms.

"I think people would be surprised by the number of not only international visitors but domestic visitors we have — suppliers to BMW, and other businesses and industries," Owens said.

The nearest accommodations currently are a couple of budget motels on Wade Hampton Boulevard/U.S. 29 about a mile from downtown. The proposed development is on the northwestern portion of land bounded by East Poinsett Street to the southwest, North Main Street to the northwest, Jason Street to the northeast and Cannon Street to the southeast, and consists mostly of abandoned buildings, a city news release said.

The idea for the development goes back three or four years, Mayor Rick Danner said, and city officials have talked to several developers in that time.

"I guess within the last year or so we were put in touch with some folks who have a good track record for developing urban space," Danner said. "We had some preliminary meetings with them and talked about our vision for downtown Greer and theirs and what it would take to get them to Greer. Out of those meetings, we forged the relationship and then a partnership to make the hotel possible."

Danner said city representatives spent a great deal of time in negotiations to come up with a deal "mutually beneficial to both of us."

"We have forged a good plan moving forward," he said.

To date, the Sycamore Investment Group has not yet made a public presentation on their plans for the site, but a 19-page development agreement provided to The Greenville News requires the developer to invest at least $10 million in a hotel no more than five stories tall as well as commercial/retail space, all of which must have a brick facade in keeping with the city's existing architecture.

The agreement also calls for the city to build a 300-space parking garage, of which 90 spaces will be leased to the developer for $30,000 a year.

City Administrator Ed Driggers has said the city's portion of the project will require issuing at least $10 million in public bonds to be repaid over 25 to 30 years. No tax increase will be necessary to cover debt payments, he said.

The Greer City Council will consider an ordinance for the $10 million bond at its Oct. 24 meeting.

About half a dozen parcels located within the proposed 2.6-acre redevelopment zone still lie in private hands, according to county records. Under the development agreement, the city agrees to try to buy a 0.2-acre residential lot at 110 Jason St. whose owners live in Atlanta. The house there is sandwiched between commercial property and a parking lot.

Patel is on business in Dallas this week, said Sycamore Investment's Jacqui Rose, and he could not be reached for comment.

The developer will purchase the rest of the land, demolish the buildings currently standing on the whole site — which includes the old Tire Exchange — and clean up any environmental problems on the old properties, according to the agreement.

The agreement requires the developer to start demolition and grading work on the site within two years of the city buying 110 Jason St.

Bettis, who is also a member of the Greer Development Corp. (GDC), said he has not met Patel but trusts the three-man committee tasked with negotiations on the project: GDC Executive Director Reno Deaton, Greer City Administrator Ed Driggers and Mayor Rick Danner.

"I'm sure we will meet them at some point," Bettis said. "If I can't trust Rick Danner, Reno Deaton and Ed Driggers, then I am in the wrong line of work."

Under the agreement passed Tuesday, the city council agreed to pay the developer $1.8 million in six installments for what are described as the developer's "cost of infrastructure." Specific construction goals will trigger the payments as follows:

handing over a portion of land to the city of Greer for the public parking deck ($325,000).

demolishing old buildings on the 2.6-acre site ($325,000)

completing footers for the hotel ($325,000)

acquiring a certificate of occupancy for the hotel ($325,000)

acquiring a certificate of occupancy for the first retail space ($250,000)

acquiring a certificate of occupancy for the final planned retail space ($250,000)